Tobacco cutter



FIG. I.

Jan. 14, 1964 Filed July 16, 1962 G. GAMBERlNl TOBACCO CUTTER 4Sheets-meet 1 INVENTOR.

GOFFREDO GAMBERI NI BYWK ATTORNEX Jan. 14, 1964 e. GAMBERINI 3,117,502

TOBACCO CUTTER Filed July 16, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 33 INVENTOR.

GOFFREDO GAMBERINI 32 IBYW ATTORNEY.

Jan. 14, 1964 TOBACCO CUTTER Filed July 16, 1962 G. GAMBERINI 7 FIG. 4.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN TOR.

GOFFREDO GAMBERINI BY M ATTORNEX Jan. 14, 1964 s. GAMBERlNl TOBACCOCUTTER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 16, 1962 INVENTOR. GOFFEDO GAMBERINIBY Mm ATTORNEY.

Billihil Patented Jan. 14, 1964 3,117,692 TOBACCO CUTTER GolfredoGamberini, Bologna, Italy, assignor to American Machine & FoundryCompany, a corporation of New Jersey Filed July 16, 1962, Ser. No.210,075 7 Claims. (Cl. 146-119) This application is acontinuation-in-part of application Serial No. 830,834, filed July 31,1959, now abancloned.

The present invention relates to a shredding machine for tobacco or thelike, in which the tobacco leaves, coming from a suitable spout, areshredded by a rotating cutting head, provided with several blades whichare substantially and preferably inclined or askew and which arecontinuously sharpened during the operation by a cylindrical grindingtool extending over their entire length or by a grinding tool of shorterlength but moveable along its axis so as to affect the blades over theirentire length, the blades protruding at the same time progressively andautomatically from the head so as to compensate for their wear and tomaintain their cutting edges always in an ideal cylindrical path ofconstant diameter which brushes by the spout.

During the operation of the shredder, the axis of rotation of thecutting head is therefore maintained in a fixed initially adjustedworking position. It is possible, however, to shift the cutting head atwill by a manual control away from and toward the tobacco outlet, inorder to inspect the latter, or to adjust the cutting head withprecision in relation to the outlet, for the initial setting of the cut.

The devices for shifting the cutting head relative to the tobacco outletmay be designed in a variety of ways. Preferably the cutting head issupported on a pivotable fork, hinged on a vertically moveable slide andarticulated to the frame of the shredder by means of one or two bracesin such a way that as the slide descends, the cutter head supportingfork is forced by the braces to pivot in an opposite direction to thespout, thereby moving the cutting head away therefrom, while as theslide rises, the reverse movement of the cutting head is automaticallybrought about. But when acting only on the braces which connect thecutter head supporting fork to the frame of the machine and for shiftingthe braces forward and back by means of an eccentric on their pinsfastened to the frame and to winch the braces are articulated, thecutting head supporting fork can be made to pivot in its raised workingposition, away from and toward the tobacco outlet, so as to permit theexact initial positioning of the cutting head in relation to said spout.

The device which during the operation of the shredder causes theautomatic protrusion of the blades from the cutting head can likewise bedesigned in any manner suitable for the purpose. The blades aregenerally substantially fiat and each of them is caused to advance or ispushed progressively out of the cutting head, preferably by a screwfeed. Such blade-advancing devices derive their movement from therotation of the cutting head, to which they are coupled by means of asuitable diiierential transmission, The blade-advancing mechanismpreferably comprises means for varying the rate of forward movement ofthe blades, means for automatically stopping the shredder uponexhaustion of the blades (also when only one blade is exhausted or wornout, if the blades did not initially all have equal width) and means forthe rapid handling of the blade-advancing elements for the replacementthereof and for their setting.

These and other characteristics of the invention will be evident fromthe following description of a preferred embodiment illustrated by wayof example in the annexed drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates schematically in lateral elevation, with parts brokenaway and parts in section, a tobacco shredder according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 illustrates, on an enlarged scale, the rotating cutting head ofthe shredder in transverse section along line lIlI of FIG. 4;

FIG. 3 illustrates, on a larger scale, a detail of the cut- Zing head,in transverse section along line III-III of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section, on a reduced scale, of the cuttinghead along line IV-IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 shows a plan view, partly in section, of a detail of blade 5 andits securing means;

FIG. 6 shows a vertical view, partly in section, of the details of FIG.5;

FIG. 7 shows details of the interconnection between the rotating headand the blade feed; and

FIG. 8 shows details of the interconnection between the two shafts whichcontrol the blade feed.

With reference to the figures, the illustrated shredder comprises twoconveyor belts, a lower belt 1 and an upper belt 2, converging towardthe spout 3. The tobacco leavesare charged on the lower belt 1, and arepushed by it toward the spout 3, while being progressively compressedbetween said belt 1, and the upper belt 2, in order finally to beexpelled through spout 3. The tobacco emerging from spout 3, is shreddedby a rotating cutting head 4, which'is arranged in front of spout 3, andwhich carries a plurality of inclined blades 5, disposed at regularangular intervals and extending over the entire width of the spout 3.The outer cutting edges of the blades 5, lie on the sur face of an idealcylinder 6, which, in the working position of the cutting head, skimsthe spout 3. The rotating cut-1 ting head 4 is driven by the motor (notillustrated) of the shredder over trapezoidal belts 39 and a pulley 40installed on shaft 13 of the head 4.

During the operation of the shredder, the blades 5 of the cutting headare continuously sharpened by means of a cylindrical grinding tool 7,which extends over the entire length of the blades 5. This grinding tool7, is supported on the cutting head 4, on the opposite side to spout 3,and is driven positively by a suitable motor (not shown), being swept byeach blade 5, with each rotation of the cutting head 4. The cylindricalgrinding tool 7, is mounted on a pivotable support 8, hinged at 9 to theframe 10, of thet shredder, means being provided for adjusting andmain-; taining said support in a working position so that the: grindingtool acts in the desired manner on the cutting; edges of blade 5. Thesupport 8 of grinding tool 7 can be: made to pivot upward about itsfulcrum 9, by a manually; controlled screw 11, so as to lift thegrinding tool and to, bring it into contact with an overlying diamondrecon ditioning device 12, which is mounted to slide along th generatrixof the grinding tool stone in suitable guides and which serves to dressthe grinding tool. 3

During the operation of the shredder, the shaft 13, of the! rotatingcutting head 4, is maintained in an initially preset fixed workingposition and to compensate for the consumption or wear of the bladescaused by their being con-1 tinuously sharpened by the grinding tool 7,the blades 5, automatically and progressively protrude from the cuttinghead 4, so as to maintain their outer cutting edges always on the idealcylinder surface 6, and spaced from the spout 3. For this purpose theinvention provides a special autoa matic device for the advance of theblades 5, which will be described below. i

The cutting head 4, although held in fixed position dur ing operation,can be shifted at will away from and toward the spout 3, by a greater orsmaller amount and with man-Z ual control, especially for the purpose ofpositioning the axis of the cutter head fixedly relative to the spout 3.To this end the cutting head 4, is mounted, in the illustrated example,on a pivotable support, for example, on a fork 1 hinged at on a slide16, which can slide vertically along column 18, under the action of arack 76, a gear 7 on shaft 75, and a crank 79. The pivotable fork 14, isarticulated to the frame 10 of the machine by means of two lateralbraces 19, each hinged at on the fork 14 and on an eccentric pin 21 onthe frame 10, of the shredder. As the slide 16 descends along thevertical guides 17, the braces 19 cause fork 14 to pivot in an oppositedirection to spout 3 and thus force the cutting head 4 to move away fromspout 3. As slide 16 rises, the braces 19 cause the fork 14 to pivottoward spout 3, and thus advance the cutting head 4 to said spout. Forthe exact initial setting of the working position of the cutting head 4in relation to spout 3, only the braces 19 are shifted by the action ofan eccentric arrangement comprising a pin 21, an adjusting lug 72secured through a pivot to the frame 19 of the shredder. by a set screw74 which engages in an elongated slot in lug 72. In this way, the forkis slightly pivoted about its fulcrum 15 on slide 16 and the cuttinghead 4 is shifted a little away from and toward spout 3.

The blades 5, are flat and are kept in place on the correspondinginclined seats 22 of the cutting head 4, by means of superposedfastening plates 23 which are secured to the head 4 by means of studbolts 24 (FIG. 3). Each blade 5 is lodged in a corresponding enclosure123 of the fastening plate 23, means being provided in the form ofcalibrated washers 25 on the studs 24, as shown in FIG. 5, which causethese enclosures 123 to be slightly higher than the thickness of blade5. 'Blade 5 can thus slide in transverse direction to the cutting head4, in said enclosure 123 of the respective fastening, plate 23 and onits own seat 22, While being firmly blocked on the cutting head 4 by aplurality of spring dowels 26 which frictionally engage with theblade.These spring dowels 26 are lodged in suitable seats in the cutting head4, and are distributed in suitable manner over the length of blade '5.The cutting edge of each blade 5,-protrudes slightly from the rotatinghead 4, by an amount required to obtain the exact cutting of thetobacco.

The automatic and progressive advance of each of the blades 5, duringthe operation of the shredder is effected in the example illustrated inH6. 2 by means of two blocks 27, which are distributed over the lengthof the blade 5, one to the right and the other to the left of thetransverse median plane of the cutting head 4, and which act on theinner rear edge of the blade. Blocks 27, to one side of the median planeare shown in section in FIG. 2, the blocks on the other side of theplane may be in the same position. Each of these blocks 27 slidestransversely to the blade 5 (but is not pivotable) in a suitableguideway 30, in the cutting head 4 and is screwed onto a screw 28which'extends transversely to blade 5 below the same and is mountedrotatably (but not slidably) in suitable bearings 29 in head 4. Thus,when turning both screws 28, simultaneously and by the same amount, therespective blocks 27, engaging with these screws are made to advance intheir guideways 30, pushing the. respective blades 5 forward and causingthese to protrude from the cutting head 4.

The screws 28, for advancing the blades 5, can also be operated singlyand by hand, under the conditions and for the purposes stated below, bymeans of knobs 31, which are fastened externally on the rear ends of thescrews 28 (FIG. 2 and FIG. 3). However, during the operation of theshredder all screws 28 for advancing the blades 5, are actuatedsimultaneously and automatically at the same speed by a common controldevice. This device comprises a shaft 32 coaxial with the cutting head 4and mounted pivotably therein. On this shaft 32, in a cavity 1%, of thecutting head 4, two endless screws 33 are keyed, one

The motion of the adjusting lug is limited for each group, right andleft, of the blade-pushing blocks 27. The cavity 104, as may be seen inFIG. 4, extends through much of the internal medial space of therotating cutting head 4, except for a centrally positioned hub 76,integral with head 4, to lend rigidity to the structure. On each screw28 for advancing the blades 5, there is keyed a gear 34, which mesheswith a gear 35 axially slidable on a corresponding countershaft 36parallel to the respective screw '28 and mounted piv'otable in thecutting head 4. A spring 38 normally maintains the slidable gear 35 inengagement with the gear 34. On each countershaft 3:: is mountedmoreover a helicoidal gear 37 and all these helicoidal gears 37belonging to the right and left groups of the advancing screws 28 meshwith the respective endless screw 33 of the center shaft 32. Duringope'rationof the shredder, the center shaft 32 for the control of theadvance of the blades 5 is urged in a relative rotary movement withrespect to the rotating cutting head 4 by means to be described belowand causes the very slow continuous simul aneous advance of all blades5, and at the same time all advancing screws 28 are made to rotate withthe same instantaneous speed through respective helicoidal gear pairs33, 37 and the cylindrical gear pairs 35, 34, thereby sliding forwardall blade-pushing blocks 27.

Preferably, according to the invention, the movement of the shaft 32,which controls the advance of the blades 5 is derived from the rotationof the cutting head 4, so that the rate of advance of the blades 5automatically depend on the speed of rotation of the cutting head andhence on the frequency with which the grinding tool 7 acts on thecutting edges of the blades 5. For this purpose, the shafts 113, 213, towhich cutting head i is secured, are hollow. The shafts are mountedrotatably by means of roller bearings 41 in the pivotable support fork14. Shaft 42 is prolonged axially on the left, as seen in FIG. 4,through one side of hollow shaft 113,

' coaxial therewith. It protrudes to the left of fork 14 coaxially withthe cutting head 4. Shaft 42 is freely pivotable in the hollow shaft 113of the cutting head 4 and. is coupled to shaft 32 by means of astraight-tooth face coupling 43, as shown in FIG. 8, or by means of anyother equivalent coupling or clutch capable of disenga ing automaticallywhen the two shafts 32, 42- :are displaced reciprocally in axialdirection away from each other. Shaft 32 is also slidable axially in thecutting head 4, extending into the opposite hollow shaft 213 thereof,and is urged axially toward shaft 42 by a spring 44 which normallymaintains the coup-ling 43 engaged.

It should be apparent, therefore, that the shaft which controls theadvance of the blades 5 formed of two coaxial half-shafts 32 and 42,coupled together by the coupling 43. In the following, the twohalf-shafts will be referred toas internal half-shaft 3-2 and externalhalfshaft 42.

Mounted on'the outer end of the external half-shaft 42 and freelyrotatable thereon is a gear 46. Gear 46 is secured for rotation to thecutting head 4, being coupled.

to shaft 113 of the cutting head by means of a claw coupling 146, shownin PEG. 4, but as best seen in FIG. 7. Near the left-hand end of theexternal half-shaft 42, to one side of the gear 46, a pulley is looselymounted. Opposing the left-hand face of gear 46,another coaxial gear 47is integrally secured to half-shaft 42. Gear 47 has one more, or a fewmore, teeth than gear 46. Thus, for example, gear 47 may have 100 teeth,while 46 has 99. A satellite pinion 48, is carried by a housing 49 whichis integral with the pulley 45, and rotates together with pulley 45 onthe half-shaft 42. Satellite pinion 48 engages with both gears 46 and47. Another pulley Si is keyed to hollow shaft 113. Pulley 56 controlsthe advance of the blades 5 through a belt 51 which drives a pulley 52.Pulley 52 is keyed on a countershaft 53, keyed to which also is anexpandable pulley 54. Pulley 54 actuates another belt 55 which, in turn,drives box 49 which rotates 'sate1lite'48.

Under the above conditions, during the operation of the shredder, pulley5i), integral with the cutting head 4, rotates pulley 45, and thesatellite-holding box 49 integral therewith, by means of thetransmission train 50, 5f, 52, 54, 55 and 45. The angular speeds of thecutting head 4 and of the pulley 45 differ by a certain amountdetermined by the ratio of the dimensions of the pulleys in the train.The same speed ratio exists between the angular speeds of the gear 46directly coupled to the cutting head and the satellite-holding box 4 9,integral with the pulley 45. Consequently, the satellite 48 rot-atesabout its own axis and transmits the difference in angular speed to thehalf-shaft 42 through gear 47, with a reduction corresponding to theratio between the two gears 45 and 47. The relative speed thus obtainedbetween the rotating cutting head 4, and the external half-shaft 42 istransmitted by the latter to the internal half-shaft 32 through coupling43 and serves to produce the very slow advance of the blades 5 by meansof the devices described before.

The rate of advance of the blades 5 can be varied within A certainlimits by varying the effective diameter of the expandable pulley 54which may be changed by tightening or separating the pulley halves bymeans of screws such as 54A.

The shredder according to the invention is provided moreover with adevice which automaticmly stops the machine when even one of the blades5, is worn out or in case of an overload. For that purpose, in theillustrated embodiment, the internal half-shaft 32 which controls theadvance of the blades is arranged so that it is axially slidable and iscoupled to the external half-shaft 42 by means of the face coupling 43or a clutch, as shown in FIG. 8. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, theinternal half-shaft 32 projects outward to the right of hollow shaft 213and its free end is engageable with an adjustable screw 55 on amicro-switch 57 which forms a part of the electric control circuit ofthe shredder. A blade 5 is considered worn out when its reduction insize, due to wear, and sharpening by grinding tool 7, permits itsrespective blade-pushing blocks 27 to advance to their extreme forwardpositions and reach the front end of their guides 3%} where they arestopped against their respective front supports 29, of their respectiveadvancing screws 28 (FIG. 2). The blade-pushing blocks 27 then preventfurther rotation of their screws 28 and hence also of their respectivecylindrical gear pairs 34, 35, as well as the helicoidal wheels 37.Consequently, as the half-shaft 32 continues its rotation, the endlessscrews 33 keyed on said shaft and engaged in the helicoidal Wheels 37,now blocked, imp-art to the half-shaft 32 an axial movement in thedirection of the arrow in FIG. 4 and against the action of the returnspring 44. The half-shaft 32, therefore, shifts slightly outward and byits end 56 actuates the micro-switch 57, opening it or closing it so asto cause the stopping of the shredder. If the micro-switch 57 did notfunction and the cutting head 4 continued to rotate, the half-shaft 32would continue to shift in axial direction, in the same sense asmentioned above and still under the action of the endless screws 33, fora distance sufficient to cause the disengagement of the face coupling43. In this way the internal half-shaft 32 is automatically uncoupledfrom the external shaft 42 and hence from its actuating mechanism, andthe protrusion of the blades 5 is stopped while the rotation of thecutting head 4 continues. As soon as the latter is stopped, spring 44shifts the half-shaft 32 axially to the left, until it again engagescoupling 43 and restores conditions to normal.

The invention also comprises a device which permits manual actuation ofscrews 28, singly or by pairs, for the advance of any of blades 5, orfor the purpose of bringing blade-pushing blocks 27 rapidly back totheir starting position after exhaustion of the respective blade, or toeffect any manipulation necessary for the adjustment of any blade, suchforexarnple, as regulating its correct initial projection from thecutting head 4. Every screw 6 2 8, can be rotated by hand by means ofits external knob 31, but for that purpose, it is necessary first toloosen its respective screw 28 from its irreversible actuatinghelicoidal couple 33, 37. Therefore, there is provided for each blade 5,in the cutting head 4 a bar or plate element 58 (FIGS. 2 and 4) whichcooperates with all sliding gears 35 coupled to the advancing screws 28,and which is disposed on the side of these gears 35, opposite theirreturn springs 38. Bar 58, can be shifted parallel to the shafts 36 ofthe sliding gears 35, by means of any manually controlled device, so asto push all gears 35 axially on their shafts 36, counter to the actionof the springs 3-3, until gears 35 disengage from gears 34 fastened onthe blade-advancing screws 28. In this way, each screw 28 may be freedand may be manipulated by its respective knob 31. Upon completing themanipulation, bar 58 is returned to the starting position, and thesprings 38 push sliding gears 35 back to re-engage with gears 34.

In the embodiment illustrated, the device for the displacement andmanipulation of bar 58, consists of a ferrule 59 (FIGS. 3 and 4) onwhich bar 58 is fastened transversely and which slides on a fixed shaft60, parallel to the shafts 36 of the sliding gears 35 and disposedmidway between shafts 36. Ferrule 59 is shifted axially on its own shaft60, by means of an eccentric 61 which is fastened to a pin 62 projectingto the outside through plate 23 for the attachment of the blade and ispivotable by hand by means of a key. The ferrule is provided with atransverse slot in which a pin extending from eccentric 61 engages. Whenthe eccentric is rotated in either direction, the pin pushes the ferrulealong shaft in a respective direction.

Obviously, the invention is not limited to the embodiments justdescribed and illustrated, but may be widely varied and modified,especially structurally, without thereby departing from the spirit ofthe invention set forth above and claimed in the following.

What is claimed is:

1. In a shredding machine for cutting leaf tobacco, in combination, amachine frame, a rotatable cutter head, a first and a second hollowshaft on which said head is mounted, means for rotatably supporting saidhollow shafts about a fixed axis relative to said frame, knife meansslidably mounted in said cutter head, a two-piece shaft mounted foraxial rotation in said hollow shafts, gearing operatively connectingsaid knife means and said two-piece shaft for advancing said knife meansoutwardly of said head at a predetermined rate during the operation ofthe machine, a variable speed reduction drive operatively connectingsaid cutter head and said twopiece shaft, said drive comprising a gearhousing rotatable about said two-piece shaft, a drive gear in saidhousing secured to said first hollow shaft, a driven gear secured to onepiece of said two-piece shaft, a pinion in said housing, operativelyengaging said gears, pulley means including an expandable pulleydrivingly connecting said cutter head and the said gear housing, andmeans for discharging tobacco across the peripheral path of said cutterhead.

2. A shredding machine for cutting leaf tobacco, com prising, incombination, a machine frame, a rotatable cutter head, means forrotatably supporting said cutter head about a fixed axis relative tosaid frame, knife means slidably mounted in said head, a feed mechanismin said cutter head for slidably projecting said knife means, astationary stop to arrest said feed mechanism after a predetermineddistance of feed, a drive for said feed mechanism including a drivemember and a driven member disengageably connected to each other, saiddriven member being movable to a disengaged position, means to bias saiddriven member into engaged operative position while driving apredetermined feed load, said biasing means yielding when said loadexceeds said predetermined feed load, said driven member then moving toa disengaged position incapacit-ating said drive, whereby said drive isarrested upon said knife means jamming or contacting said stop.

3. A shredding machine for cutting leaf tobacco, comprising, incombination, a machine frame, a rotatable cutter head, means forrotatably supporting said cutter head about a fixed axis relative tosaid frame, knife means slidably mounted in said head, a feed drive insaid cutter head to slidably project a said knife means therefrom, saidfeed drive including a mechanism, said mechanism including a drivemember, a driven member, and a gear train to project said knife, saidgear train including a Worm gear secured on said driven member, meansfor normally biasing said driven member into driving engagement withsaid drive member and said driven member being displaceable axiallyagainst said biasing means from and out of said driving engagement, saidworm gear moving said driven member axially upon arrest of said feeddrive,a stop to arrest said knife feed after a predetermined amount offeed, said driven member then moved by said Worm gear against saidbiasing means to a disengaged position incapacitating said drive,whereby said drive is arrested upon said knife feed jamming orcontacting said stop.

4. A shredding machine for cutting leaf tobacco, comprising, incombination, a machine frame, a rotatable cutter head, means forrotat-ably supporting said cutter head about a fixed axis relative tosaid frame, knife means slidably mounted in said head, a feed drive insaid cutter head to slidably project said knife means therefrom, saidfeed drive including a mechanism, said mechanism including a drivemember, a driven member, and a gear train to project said knife, meansfor normally biasing said driven member into driving engagement withsaid drive member and said driven memberbeing displaceable axiallyagainst said biasing means from and out of said driving engagement, an'instrumentality actuated by said gear train for moving saiddriven'member axially upon arrest of said feed drive, a stop to arrestsaid knife feed after a predetermined amount of feed, said driven memberthen moved by said iinstrumentality against said biasing means to adisengaged position incapacitating said drive, whereby said drive isarrested upon'said knife feed jamming or contacting said stop.

5. A shredding machine for cutting leaf tobacco, com

prising, in combination, amachine frame, a rotatable cutter head, meansfor rotatably supporting said cutter head about. a fixed axis relativeto said frame, knife means slidably mounted in said head, a feedmechanism in said head for slidably projecting-said knife meanstherefrom, said feed including a mechanism, said mechanism including adrive member and a driven member disengageabiy connected to each other,said driven member being provided with an endless screw engaging with ahelicoidal gear, said driven member being movable to a disengagedposition, means to bias said driven member into engaged operativeposition while driving a predetermined feed load, said biasing meansyielding when said load exceeds said predetermined feed load, saiddriven member then moving to a disengaged position incapacitating saiddrive, whereby said drive is arrested upon jamming or contacting saidstop.

6. A shredding machine for cutting leaf tobacco, comprising, incombination, a machine frame, a rotatable cutter head, means for rotatably supporting said cutter head about a fixed axis relative to saidframe, knife means slidably mounted in said head, a feed mechanism insaid cutter head for slidably projecting said knife means, a stationarystop to arrest said feed mechanism after a predetermined distance offeed, a drive for said feed mechanism including a drive member and adriven member disengageably connected one to another, said driven memberdisplaceable axially away from said drive member, said driven memherbeing movable to a disengaged position, means to bias said driven memberinto engaged operative position while driving a predetermined feed load,said biasing means yielding when said load exceeds said predeterminedfeed load, said driven member then moving to a disengaged positionincapacitating said drive, whereby said drive is arrested upon jammingor contacting said stop.

7. A shredding machine for cutting leaf tobacco, comprising, incombination, a machine frame, a rotatable cutter head, means forrotatably supporting said cutter head about a fixed axis relative tosaid frame, knife means slidably mounted in said head, a feed mechanismin said cutter head for slidably projecting said knife means, astationary stop to arrest said feed mechanism after a predetermineddistance of feed, a slip clutch, a drive for said feed mechanismincluding a drive member and a driven member disengageably connected bysaid slip clutch, said slip olutch disengaging said members uponactuation, means to actuate said clutch to a disengaged position upon apredetermined feed load value, biasing means normally engageg saidclutch yielding when said load reaches said predetermined value, saidbiasing means then actuating said clutch to incapacitate said drive,whereby said drive is arrested upon said knife means jamming orcontacting said stop.

References Cited in the fiie of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. IN A SHREDDING MACHINE FOR CUTTING LEAF TOBACCO, IN COMBINATION, AMACHINE FRAME, A ROTATABLE CUTTER HEAD, A FIRST AND A SECOND HOLLOWSHAFT ON WHICH SAID HEAD IS MOUNTED, MEANS FOR ROTATABLY SUPPORTING SAIDHOLLOW SHAFTS ABOUT A FIXED AXIS RELATIVE TO SAID FRAME, KNIFE MEANSSLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID CUTTER HEAD, A TWO-PIECE SHAFT MOUNTED FORAXIAL ROTATION IN SAID HOLLOW SHAFTS, GEARING OPERATIVELY CONNECTINGSAID KNIFE MEANS AND SAID TWO-PIECE SHAFT FOR ADVANCING SAID KNIFE MEANSOUTWARDLY OF SAID HEAD AT A PREDETERMINED RATE DURING THE OPERATION OFTHE MACHINE, A VARIABLE SPEED REDUCTION DRIVE OPERATIVELY CONNECTINGSAID CUTTER HEAD AND SAID TWOPIECE SHAFT, SAID DRIVE COMPRISING A GEARHOUSING ROTATABLE ABOUT SAID TWO-PIECE SHAFT, A DRIVE GEAR IN SAIDHOUSING SECURED TO SAID FIRST HOLLOW SHAFT, A DRIVEN GEAR SECURED TO ONEPIECE OF SAID TWO-PIECE SHAFT, A PINION IN SAID HOUSING, OPERATIVELYENGAGING SAID GEARS, PULLEY MEANS INCLUDING AN EXPANDABLE PULLEYDRIVINGLY CONNECTING SAID CUTTER HEAD AND THE SAID GEAR HOUSING, ANDMEANS FOR DISCHARGING TOBACCO ACROSS THE PERIPHERAL PATH OF SAID CUTTERHEAD.